Sheath cleaning is definitely not the most pleasant thing to do. You should know though it is essential for your stallion’s/gelding’s health and well – being and it must be done regularly. Breeding stallions are usually pretty well looked after and have their genitals cleaned regularly. In my opinion geldings are the ones often having problems.
Dirty sheath may cause your horse a lot of problems and pain, not to mention that it really smells! It depends on an individual horse how often you will have to do it. Some horses are fine if you do it every 6 – 8 months, some of them may need cleaning every 3 – 4 months. Don’t get too keen though and clean your horse’s sheath too often as that may affect the population of small microorganism living there and you may upset a good balance.
All dirt and excretions are called smegma. If the big lump of smegma hardens and collects inside of a horse’s penis, it is called “a bean”. It is extremely painful and can cause serious health issues including problems with urinating or even blockages. To be honest I think beans are actually life – threatening. If a bean is very big, you may need to sedate a horse to remove it as it is very irritating and painful. If you see your stallion or a gelding to kick at its belly, hold a leg up while urinating, display soreness in the hindquarters – it may be a sign its sheath needs cleaning or – unfortunately – there is already a bean formed.
For your own convenience and safety you should make sure your horse is used to having his penis cleaned. If you don’t know what his reaction can be, try to hose him gently with a water. Start with front legs, move on to hind legs, gently hose his belly, move to groins and then slowly towards penis. If a horse doesn’t seem to object the procedure, you can expect he will not cause you major problems when you actually try to clean his sheath. Most likely though he may be worried and a bit anxious. Don’t get frustrated! For a horse it is a natural self – defence, he is worried about his body. If your horse is afraid of water (or a hose), try to gently rub the sheath to encourage a horse to drop its penis. If a horse allows you, you may try to reach gently into a sheath, grab a penis and slowly ease it out.
Every horse if correctly handled and re – assured, in my opinion will be fine with cleaning its sheath. Once they find out it is actually quite relaxing and pleasant, they usually don’t mind. Remember once they are relaxed, they may help you and just drop their penis down. My horse was really anxious to start with and tried to kick several times. Although he used to race, I think his sheath was never taken care of – it was so disgusting and dirty! I started with sponging him gently around sheath, then sponging outside of his sheath and then one day just decided to risk it and clean it all out.
Cleaning
You will need a cleaning product of your choice, latex gloves (recommended!) and some lubricant – and please have your nails short, bucket of water if necessary. Work your hand up into a sheath and rub a gel/foam gently. Remember to be thorough and remove all debris. The more you remove, the more likely your horse will avoid problems. Afterwards always make sure you remove all the cleaning products with water!
Products
You can use lots of different products to clean a sheath as there is a lot of good quality products available everywhere. My two choices are:
Main points to remember:
Make sure you clean your horse’s sheath regularly to avoid problems.
Use only gentle products and make sure you wash them all away with water.
Try to make your horse used to having its genitals touched and handled and you will save yourself a lot of troubles.
Always be very patient and very gentle when cleaning horse genitals.
If you have any doubts or concerns, call your vet!
26 July 2009
8 July 2009
7. Swede - to feed or not to feed?
Swede – also called rutabaga or yellow turnip – is a root vegetable easily found in every supermarket or a local shop (and it’s also pretty cheap!). Some people are not sure if swede actually can be fed to horses. The answer is: IT CAN!
Most horses absolutely love swede. My horse before devouring it, plays with it and kicks it like it was a ball. It keeps him busy and happy. Some horses will just play with it and eat it if we put it in a stable or on a field. Some of them may feel a bit insecure or worried about big, round “thing” and in that case it’s easier to cut it in pieces and put it in a bucket or mix it with feed. If you want to provide your horse some fun and activity in a stable, the good idea is to hang a swede on a rope and safely tie in up in a stable. It will prevent boredom and keep horse amused. Well unfortunately some horses will play with it for hours, the cheekier (or greedier) ones may easily find the way to snap it in pieces and eat it with ease.
Swede added to a feed may also encourage a horse to eat its food. A piece of swede is also – in my opinion – a much better treat than sugar cube or a mint. Always remember to cut swede into strips not chunks (to avoid choking) if you want to put it into a feed.
5 July 2009
6. Echinacea for horses
Echinacea is a herbal plant known also as a coneflower. And just because it’s a herb, we tend to forget that it’s one of the strongest and most effective booster of immune system as it actives white blood cells. The better the immune system works, the quicker horse body will handle infections. Echinacea also acts anti – inflammatory, antiseptic, antiviral and anti – bacterial. It encourages wound healing and can help with skin conditions such as burns or insect bites. Not to mention it can relieve respiratory tract problems such as cold or cough.
Some people don’t believe in power of herbs. I agree it takes time for herbal products to work and for us to see results. It can take up to few months. I’m not trying to encourage you to over – supplement your horse but just trying to give you ideas what to do when a problem occurs. If you know that your horse is particularly weak, older, recovering from a surgery or in high risk of becoming ill, I’d personally consider supporting its body. My friend’s competition horse is currently on box rest recovering from a surgery. As her food and grazing are restricted and she’s still very weak and prone to infections, my friend decided to support her immune system with Echinacea (she anyway hardly gets any supplements apart from biotin and soya oil). Let’s be honest when a horse is recovering, the last thing we want is some nasty infection. I’m watching my friend’s mare carefully and must admit she is looking very well and quite happy.
You can buy horse version of Echinacea supplements online:
http://www.nutrecare.co.uk/latest_detail.asp?prod_id=3297&id=&grpid=3297&msg=&offset=12
http://www.orchardequestrian.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=4248&substring=echin
These supplements are pretty expensive. You can try to substitute them with a human version of Echinacea supplements which you can probably get from your local health store. In both cases always CAREFULLY READ THE LABEL, don’t overdose, if you have any doubts speak to your vet.
1 July 2009
5. Mint in horse diet
We all know the lovely, strong smell of mint. Mint is well – known for its excellent aroma and healing power. It helps to soothe the digestive system and ease stomach aches. It’s very commonly used in industrial purposes like for example in mouth freshening products. It can cure seasonal cough or cold and also remove excess of heat from a body.
Horses love taste of mint too! Just to mention their favorite polo mints and other mint flavored treats. Adding special mint supplement to your horse’s diet can be quite beneficial. Apart from giving the food a very pleasant aroma and encouraging even shy or fussy eaters to try their food, it can also help to relax the muscles of a digestive tract therefore actually encourage the good health of a digestive system. It helped me to encourage my horse to eat bran mash and readigrass (2 things he really dislikes!) while being on a box rest. I can highly recommend that product.
It’s a reasonably priced supplement. Of course introduce mint supplement in a diet gradually and do not overdose. You can get some mint supplements online here:
It’s a reasonably priced supplement. Of course introduce mint supplement in a diet gradually and do not overdose. You can get some mint supplements online here:
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